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Yvona Fast is an author, freelance writer, food columnist, editor, researcher and speaker. Her first book is a career guide for individuals with Asperger Syndrome or Non-Verbal Learning disability. She is currently working on her second book, My Nine Lives, a memoir she's writing with her mother, a Holocaust survivor. An excerpt, Escape from the Ghetto, won honorable mention in the North Country Public Radio writing contest. Her weekly column, North Country Kitchen, offers a medley of nutritional information, historical facts, and easy, seasonal recipes that help the reader prepare wholesome family meals and achieve a healthy lifestyle.
(2 comments) SHARE Wednesday, July 25, 2012 Support the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is an international treaty that protects the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities and is up for ratification in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
(2 comments) SHARE Sunday, April 29, 2012 Who is Autistic?
Just who is autistic? Some see a person who flaps hands, throws chairs, and has frequent behavioral outbursts. Others see autistic savants like Raymond from Rain Man. Still others speculate that Albert Einstein, who was a late talker, was prone to tantrums, disliked crowds and had few friends, was autistic.
(1 comments) SHARE Sunday, April 1, 2012 When will it stop?
In 24 states, "stand your ground" laws permit people to use deadly force if they feel threatened, even if they can safely avoid confrontation by leaving the scene. Critics call these "shoot first" laws because the assailant must only 'reasonably believe' that danger is imminent when pulling the trigger. But when will we stop being afraid of one another?
(8 comments) SHARE Tuesday, July 26, 2011 Balance is the Key!
We need tax revenue to keep the country going. Call your Congresman.
(9 comments) SHARE Friday, May 28, 2010 And the Oil Keeps Pouring Forth"
No more offshore drilling. We need to detach ourselves from our dependence on oil before we completely ruin our planet.
(2 comments) SHARE Saturday, April 10, 2010 Autism: A Wide Spectrum
Autism is a spectrum. Everyone is different, but everyone is challenged when trying to function in the Neurotypical world.
(3 comments) SHARE Tuesday, February 16, 2010 What's in a Label?
Labels can be bad. They stigmatize; they can put people in boxes - and people don't fit in boxes. But labels can also bring freedom, community and understanding.
The new edition of the DSM will lump ADHD with disruptive behavior disorders and Asperger's Syndrome with the Autism Spectrum. Our society doesn't accept people who don't fit in. Eliminating labels will worsen how they're perceived by others in society.
(2 comments) SHARE Friday, January 22, 2010 Free Speech is for Those who Have Money
The recent Supreme Court decision protects the free speech of those with money, but the rest of us may not be heard.
(2 comments) SHARE Sunday, December 20, 2009 Shattered Hopes
I was hopeful for changes in our health care system when Obama won the election. Now my hopes are shattered; the current health care bill is a farce with little substance left. I agree with Dr. Howard Dean, it needs to be scrapped and we need to start over.
(1 comments) SHARE Thursday, September 25, 2008 Borrowed Money
We live on borrowed money. Our government lives on deficits. Greed drives our economy. We need to go back to living within our means.
(1 comments) SHARE Tuesday, February 5, 2008 Political Super Bowl
The political horse race is here. We need to reform the system and set limits on funds and time. We need a popular vote. We need to make sure all votes are verifiable and can count. We need to do away with special status early voting states.
SHARE Thursday, January 24, 2008 Be Patriotic: Go Shopping!
Our economy stands on its head. In order to move the economy continually forward, we have to buy and spend. But this goes against resource conservation, re-using, and re-cycling. We need to create an economy based on need and not on consumerism's "shop till you drop" mentality.
(1 comments) SHARE Monday, December 24, 2007 Who Kidnapped My Child?
After just two weeks of outcry from parents of disabled kids and advocacy groups, the NYU Child Study Center agreed to remove the provocative 'ransom notes' ads that depicted kids with the 6 disorders as captives of an evil Mafia.
(2 comments) SHARE Tuesday, December 4, 2007 Where Would Jesus Shop?
Do we really need to buy just for the sake of buying? This seems to me a strange ritual to celebrate the birth of someone who came into a broken, politically oppressed world as an outcast.
SHARE Friday, March 23, 2007 Privatizing Hospitals is a Bad Idea
If NY State can't allocate our tax dollars for research and development, education and health care, where are our tax dollars going? Should hospitals, educational institutions and research facilities operate primarily to make a profit, or to carry out their mission of patient care, education, and research? Does our health care system exist to provide care for our citizens, or to make money for insurance companies?